Eccleston will star in the latest staging of Jack Thorne’s A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic.
Christopher Eccleston will soon be seen heading back to the Victorian era – no, not in the TARDIS, but instead on The Old Vic stage, as he stars in A Christmas Carol.
Eccleston will play Scrooge from 11th November 2023 to 6th January 2024 at the London theatre in a staging of Jack Thorne’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s novella.
Eccleston said of appearing in the play: “As a child, I read and watched every and any version of A Christmas Carol because of a fascination with Scrooge’s psychology. As a young actor, I read everything I could about the legendary Old Vic. I’m a very lucky man to be part of this production and cannot wait to meet our audiences.”
The production will once again be directed by Matthew Warchus, who first directed Thorne’s version of the play when it debuted at The Old Vic in 2017.
In the most eagerly anticipated casting news in the theatre calendar…
— The Old Vic (@oldvictheatre) June 19, 2023
Christopher Eccleston will play Scrooge in the return of #OVChristmasCarol 2023–24. Book early for ‘one of the best Christmas shows you will ever see’ (★★★★★ The Stage) https://t.co/1P5pEfUVfi pic.twitter.com/jvEv3SXKNI
Previous stars to have taken on the role of Scrooge at The Old Vic have included Rhys Ifans, Stephen Tompkinson, Paterson Joseph, Andrew Lincoln, Stephen Mangan and Owen Teale.
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The synopsis of the play says that it “fills the auditorium to the brim with mince pies, music and merriment” and that it is “a unique staging” which “immerses the audience in London’s longest running adaptation of this beloved festive favourite”.
Thorne is known for his work on stage shows including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and films and series including Best Interests, His Dark Materials and Enola Holmes.
Meanwhile Eccleston is of course known for his role as the Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who – a part he will be returning to for a 60th anniversary audio adventure later this year.
The adventure also stars the late David Warner, who Eccleston called “extraordinary”, calling the audio drama his “favourite” from the ones he has recorded thus far.
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